Custom shock tuning- worth it?

About to send my ohlins ttx air for a service at sprung  and considering a custom tune. Anyone had one done and can report back? It’ll be on an orange stage 6 evo

reason being I had a ccdb air inline on my previous five and it felt miles better and more controlled, so thinking the ohlins should be largely similar internally as its twin tube so thinking a custom tune would be cheaper than changing to a cane creek!

If you’re particular light or heavy or fast then it probably is!

Depends on what else has changed between the Five and the Stage 6.  Is it a completely new bike or same parts on a new frame?

If it’s a completely new bike then there are probably a few other things I’d be checking first like tyres/tyre pressures/body position on the new bike vs old/ handle bar width/ stem length, etc.

Shock tune is probably the last thing I’d be looking at so if you’ve played about with everything else then I guess it’s the next logical step.

What do you want it to do that it’s not doing? Can you identify the situations where its performance is lacking?

If so, the  tuner can probably help. If you can’t properly explain it there’s little for the tuner to go on.

It depends on the shock and if you have any specific requirements.

I’ve had shock tunes that have completely changed how a bike felt and I’ve had tunes they were decidedly meh.

I’d say yes, made a big difference to the basic Fox Float on my old bike, but that had only rebound and a 3-position switch so needed fettling internally to set it up.

What tuning is actually available for the Ohlins? I remember when Cane Creek brought out the DB it’s big selling point was the effective tuning range covered just about every type of riding, frame and rider weight.  So while TF could set them up correctly when they shipped them, there wasn’t actually any need for internal work.

Just looking at the blurb for the Ohlins TTX air, it says it is designed for bikes with more progressive linkage ratios.  From what I understand, the Stage 6 has about as linear a linkage ratio as it’s possible to get.

https://www.ohlins.com/mountain-bike/rear-shocks/ttx2air-210×55-am

I’m guessing you’ve played about with the volume spacers already?

If so it could be it’s just not the best shock for this particular bike.

I was just gonna say, did you try volume spacers already?

Just looking at the blurb for the Ohlins TTX air, it says it is designed for bikes with more progressive linkage ratios. From what I understand, the Stage 6 has about as linear a linkage ratio as it’s possible to get.

Oof. You won’t tune that out.

I believe the TTX is OE spec on that bike, so it’s possible (but perhaps not probable) that Ohlins supplied them with a custom tune already.

Ye I played about with volume and seemed to make the bottom out better. The main thing is how it tracks the ground. Almost as if it needs less low speed rebound, which isn’t really adjustable and just generally lacks a bit of responsiveness at times I suppose. Have played about with tyres etc so ye this is the last part of the jigsaw. Might give it a whirl

Custom means different things to different people.

I had a Push tune done in a Fox Float. Custom in the sense that it then had different internal bits but not really custom to me, my riding style, weight and terrain preferences.

I had a DHX5.0c tuned by Avalanche and that is the suspension performance I’ve been trying to replicate on other bikes ever since. That was about as custom as it gets. New internals and a shim stack built just for me rather than a different stock option. Spendy, but worth it.

I’d rather have a shock with limited adjustment properly custom tuned for me, my bike, my riding than an off the shelf shock with all the twiddly bits claiming to suit everyone from 100 to 250 lbs.

Ask Jake and his gnomes what how they would alter the tune from standard – probably based on your weight and riding needs. A standard off the shelf shock (was it ever tuned for your bike originally?) has to cater for a massive variance in rider weight and expected trail conditions
When I got my EXT Storia (and the second one) Mojo Rising did a custom tune as part of the package.  They think it’s needed.
Maybe Sprung (good team) can make your ride better. Why not.

if you’re getting it serviced then it’s not a lot extra to get it re tuned?

Well worth chatting to them about it anyway.  Not as if a service is cheap.

Thing is you’ve either got to know exactly what you want, or you’ve got to be willing to trust the tuner to interpret for you. With me that’s pretty easy, I basically always say “this feels chokey and overdamped, I weigh nothing, make the small bump sensitivity better”, but “more controlled” is trickier. Though maybe “make this feel more like a ccdb” is enough?

I think if it was me I’d be finding out how much I can sell it for and how cheaply I could find a ccdb air, tbh.